The Morals of Heroes
by Shadough
Summary: Each miraculous holder who reveals their identity must give up their miraculous to the guardian. There are no exceptions, including Ladybug and Chat Noir.


"Marinette, what have you done?"

The girl in question was pacing around her room, making wild gestures with her hands and muttering to herself. She paid no attention to her kwami, who was floating nearby with a look of worry on her little red face.

"Tikki, I'm so stupid. How could I have known? I mean, it's so obvious now. How could I not make the connection? The eyes should have been a dead giveaway. The hair is the same. The smile. Oh, gosh, his smile is the exact same. How do I not notice these things?" Marinette's face was turning red, most likely from embarrassment. She figured that's why, though she hardly noticed how her face gained color and how her hair started standing on her head.

"Marinette, you need to calm down," Tikki told her, but was once again ignored.

"This is so stupid! I'm so stupid. I just don't get it," Marinette continued. "The personalities are all wrong, yet it's still so obvious. How did I not notice?"

"Marinette, please," the kwami begged. "You're going to pass out."

"I'm supposed to the smart, sensible savior of Paris, yet I can't see behind a stupid black mask. What's wrong with me? Better yet, how did he not notice either? We're in class together, for crying out loud. And another thing, I-"

"Marinette, get a hold of yourself!" Tikki yelled. Marinette stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide. She hardly noticed the way her kwami's eyes looked, so full of hurt. "Now that I have your attention, we need to talk."

The girl nodded. "Sure, Tikki, about what?"

Tikki breathed in and sighed. "Marinette, I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it." She paused for a moment. "Y-you can't be Ladybug anymore."

"I what? Tikki, what are you talking about?"

"Miraculous holders are never supposed to reveal their identities to anyone under any circumstance. It is forbidden. Those who do must give their miraculous back to the guardian so that he may decide what to do next with the item," the kwami explained. "I never told you because you were so intent on keeping your identities a secret. I didn't think you would ever reveal yourself to Chat Noir."

"But I- We-" Marinette was at a loss for words. Slowly, she sank down onto her bed and buried her face into her hands. "We both agreed this was for the best."

"You should have talked to me about it before you made this decision. Marinette, I'm so sorry." Tikki settled on the girl's shoulder. "The miraculous will need to go back to Master Fu as soon as possible."

Marinette shook her head. _How could I have been so stupid?_ She could feel tears in her eyes. "Tikki, I made a promise to Paris to protect them. Chat and I still need to find and defeat Hawkmoth. I can't abandon my city."

"The guardian will find another to protect Paris from Hawkmoth and his akumas. Paris will still be safe. There is nothing to worry about," Tikki said. "They will most likely not be the ladybug and black cat miraculous, so there is no worry about another claiming to be you."

"But-" Marinette stopped. _My job will be taken over by another miraculous holder? But I made a promise to the city. I swore to Paris that I would protect them from Hawkmoth._ I'm _supposed to defeat Hawkmoth. Chat Noir and I are supposed to do this._

 _I can't just let someone else do this for me. I must be the one to do defeat Hawkmoth. I can't give up my miraculous, not now._

Marinette stood up suddenly, causing Tikki to almost fall from her shoulder. She apologized and scooped the kwami off her shoulder and placed her on the bed. "Tikki, I need some air. We'll talk about this some more later."

"I understand, Marinette." Tikki bowed her head. There was a hint of worry in her voice that Marinette chose to ignore. "If you need me, I'll be here."

"Thank you," Marinette said. Thoughts of having to go back to a normal civilian life filled her mind with dread as she pushed open the door to her balcony. She climbed out and sighed, taking in a deep breath of air. She let the door shut behind her as she leaned against the railing. She sighed once more. "I'm such an idiot."

"Kid, you're kind of an idiot."

Adrien shook his head. "Plagg, what are you talking about? I just had the best morning of my life! Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. It's amazing!"

"Yeah, whatever. I don't care about your dumb crush," Plagg told him, rolling his eyes. "You can swoon over Marinette all you want later. There is something much more important we need to talk about."

"You mean your precious camembert? There is already some on the desk, you know," Adrien said. "Besides, I don't think your cheese addiction is more important than Ladybug being Marinette. Ladybug, my amazing, beautiful partner, is also this sweet, beautiful, wonderful girl behind the mask. I've been in class with Ladybug this whole time! I love public school so much."

"Kid, stop talking. We seriously need to talk about something important and no-" Plagg raised a paw to silence Adrien before he could insist the topic was going to be about cheese- "it is not about camembert. It's about your stupid decision to reveal your identity."

"It wasn't a bad decision. This is the best decision I've ever made in my entire life!" Adrien insisted. "What could possibly be so bad about this?"

"Well, maybe because you have to give your miraculous back to the guardian," the kwami told him matter-of-factly, crossing his arms. "Neither of you thought to discuss this extremely important decision with your kwami, so now you guys have to face the consequences of your actions. That means you must give up your miraculous. It's a security risk."

Adrien raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "Haha, Plagg, very funny. You can't fool me with that. What kind of stupid rule would that be, forbidding miraculous holders from revealing their identities to each other? Especially Ladybug and Chat Noir. You said it once yourself, we are each one half of a whole. We complete each other."

"I know that," he spat. "Unlike you, I'm not stupid. And no, I was not joking. I'm actually being serious. Revealing your identity to someone is absolutely not allowed. I would've told you your first day, but you were so excited I didn't get to tell you anything."

"Whatever you say, jokester. See if I keep getting you camembert when you joke around like tha-"

"Adrien, I'm not kidding around!" Plagg was furious, the model could see it in his eyes. "You dumb, stupid kid! You think I would stoop so low as to joke about you giving up your miraculous? This is a serious matter!" The kwami was flying back in forth, face flushed with anger.

"Plagg, I-"

"No, kid, shut up and listen. You are not allowed to reveal your identity, no matter who it is. Doing so results in you having to return your miraculous back to the guardian. Another miraculous will be given to some worthy enough to take your place. You will no longer be Chat Noir. You will return to being a civilian." Plagg huffed, flying over to the cheese sitting on the desk. He shoved a piece in his mouth. "You will be just a normal, boring human."

Adrien blinked, letting the information set. _"You will no longer be Chat Noir. You will return to being a civilian."_ echoed in his mind. He shook his head. "I can't go back," he whispered.

"What was that, kid?"

"I can't go back!" Adrien yelled. "I can't go back to being a cooped up kid completely controlled by his father. I don't want to give up being Chat Noir. I don't want to love this freedom."

"Well, you don't really have a choice," Plagg said.

"But I do," the boy told him. "I don't have to give the miraculous up. I can keep it. Who's going to take it from me? You? You can't do that. The guardian? Probably not. Hawkmoth? Never. I am sure Marinette will not give her miraculous up either. I will stay by my lady's side and we will defeat Hawkmoth. No one can take that job away from me."

"Kid, I know you're upset, but forcibly keeping your miraculous like this is not okay. There are consequences and-"

Adrien stopped listening. _This is mine. I am Chat Noir. I can't just give up this freedom. I don't want to go back. I can't go back._ He could feel the tears forming in his eyes. "Plagg, transform me!"

As the green light enveloped him, Adrien threw open his window. Chat Noir leaped out, running across roofs. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he wanted to taste his freedom.

* * *

 **AN- You can also find this story on my Tumblr miraculouslyladybug where I update it faster. You can also find it on ao3.**


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